THE BLADDER-NOSE SEAL AND ITS CAPTURE 171and possesses unusual strength. He is courageoustoo, and when he defends himself, as often happens,he is an opponent not to be trifled with. On the icehe can take very good care of himself, and in thewater he is actually dangerous, and the Eskimo,.who have to capture him from their little 'kayaks,'or canoes of skin, have naturaUy a great respectfor him, as he has been the cause of more thanone death among them. Sometimes even these sealsassume the offensive, as I found once in 1882, whenmy boat was attacked by a male bladder-nose, whothrew himself over the gunwale and struck at mewith his teeth. He missed me, but caught thewood-work, on which he left deep marks. This seal is an exceUent swimmer and diver too,and to obtain its food, which consists chiefly of fish,it sometimes descends to extraordinary depths. Howdeep it wiU go is not known, but some idea may beformed from the fact that I once found betweenSpitzbergen and Jan Mayen some of the peculiarNorwegian red fish, the ' bergylt' {Sebastes norvegicus),in the stomach of a bladder-nose. This is quite adeep-sea fish, its habitat ranging from sixty to ninetyfathoms below the surface. If the pressure at thisdepth, which amounts at least to eleven atmospheres,be realised, it wiU be seen that this seal must possessa chest of considerable strength. As another proof of